It seems the rental horror stories from the Randstad just keep getting worse: an overview from !Woon reports that security deposits go as high as €8,600.
In 2025, tenants reported unfair deposits, cameras in the home, exorbitant housing prices, rental scams, and rat problems unaddressed by landlords in Amsterdam.
The !Woon foundation, which, according to their website, “informs, advises and supports residents”, found that a majority of reports filed with them concerned security deposits.
Not only are many ridiculously high, but nightmare tales from renters show that refunds are seemingly no longer standard practice, according to Het Parool.
Ah, the magic of Amsterdam.
Sky-high deposits and rents
It seems landlording in Randstad is only constrained by one’s audacity.
For instance, 17 square meters? To some, that’s a shoebox. To an Amsterdam landlord with the power of imagination, though? That’s €1,850 in rent, reports !Woon.
It’s certainly not news that prices have been steadily climbing for years (as reports from the Dutch Bureau of Statistics tell us).
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As more and more rental properties disappear from the market, however, landlords are throwing caution to the wind in the form of deposit requests as well.
Even when deposits are high, refunds are not a given — withholding them seems to now be part of the “business model” of landlording, reports Het Parool.
The Good Landlordship Act
The Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap) was introduced to keep landlords from engaging in indefensible rental practices in Amsterdam.
In conjunction with the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur), which puts a ceiling on rental prices, these laws intend to contain the massively unfair rental practices running rampant through the Randstad.
According to !Woon, however, many reports show that landlords are circumventing, or in some cases, flat-out ignoring the laws, particularly in Amsterdam. More than 90% of reports came from this area.
READ MORE | Amsterdam landlord charges €1,950 in rent, rental committee reduces it to €95
In the case of the Affordable Rent Act, which functions on a points-based system to help landlords ethically set their rental prices, this is plainly visible.
For example, in one instance, a landlord whose property was listed at a point-score of 163 (equivalent to a rent of €1,032) was charging €1,900 in rent, reports Het Parool.
When the problem was flagged, the landlord promptly took the property off the rental market, citing personal reasons.
What’s the solution?
The !Woon foundation suggests amending the existing Acts.
The Good Landlordship Act, for instance, doesn’t specifically address failure to refund deposits as a punishable violation on the part of the landlord. Essentially, there is no incentive for the landlord to comply.
A potential solution, therefore, could be to make this violation subject to fines from the Gemeente. Seems only fair, right?
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In general, though, the two acts are seen as recent wins for renters and generally good attempts to regulate the madness of this rental market.
Unfortunately, Amsterdam landlords will try anything they can to get around them. The best bet is to make the legislation airtight.
Have you experienced landlord troubles in Amsterdam? Let us know in the comments!
